Hey, blossoms and bloomers, there are at least 60 of us running on Sunday. Even with all the mass chaos, it might be nice to look for who else may be in your corral/wave. (The layout is at http://www.cherryblossom.org/commadmin/images/2013/StagingAreaMap(130318).pdf, yellow goes first.)

Pace group sounds great. It definitely will make it easier to locate comrades to support and cheer with. For those with experience, would you pick a group that is faster for your pace or slower if you know you are somewhere in between say 7:30 and 8?

I think you have options - and, ultimately, a personal decision based on your unique goal for the run, in the context of your training program. You could start with 7:30 and feel it out (risk, you could fly and die), start with 8s and ride it -- then at the end push up the pace if you feel good, or - if you have a watch - go somewhere in the middle